


So in love

by fanetjuh



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-03-02 06:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18805690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanetjuh/pseuds/fanetjuh
Summary: The royal family is on its way to Winterfell and Sansa can't stop talking about prince Joffrey. Normally Theon likes being in her company, but this time he just wants this visit to be over. Because the sooner prince Joffrey is gone again, the sooner Sansa will realise that her true love and handsome knight has always be there.*This will probably be Theon dreaming about marrying Sansa for a long time, but I promise, he will get noticed at some point!*





	1. Chapter 1

Theon clenched his jaw and fists. Normally he loved being around Sansa and listening to her ramblings about songs and heroes and knights, but he was afraid he’d hurt someone if he’d have to hear the name of that spoiled prince one more time.

Prince Joffrey this. Prince Joffrey that. 

He’d be glad if that royal family visit was finally over and things would go back to normal. 

And maybe then Sansa would finally stop gushing about a boy she hadn’t even met yet. 

Maybe the prince would turn out to be a jerk. Maybe he was ugly in real life. 

Theon hoped the prince would be a jerk and he hoped the prince would be ugly. He hoped that the prince would really be one big disappointment.

“Theon!” Robb planted his elbow in Theon’s flank and Theon furrowed his eyebrows while he let out a scream. “You sound like a girl!” Robb chuckled. “We have to get our hair done. The royal family will be here in a few hours. Mother wants us to look perfect.”

Theon bit his bottom lip. “I always look perfect. You on the other hand…” He smirked, but he did follow Robb anyway. 

How funny would it be if they would all look so much more handsome than the young prince Sansa had set her heart on? How funny would it be if they would all look amazing and perfectly groomed and the prince would look like a total disaster?

Theon could already imagine Sansa’s face. He could imagine the smile on her face disappearing when the prince would get off of his horse. He could imagine her disappointment. And he could most of all imagine how he would wrap an arm around her shoulders to assure her that there were other men who would love her hand in marriage, more handsome men, more charming men, better men than that spoiled prince.

And then she would look up at him and their eyes would meet and she would notice how handsome he was, how charming he was and how good he was. The smile would return to her angelic looking face and there would be a glimmer in her beautiful blue eyes.

He would tuck a strand of her lovely red hair behind her ear and then he would press a soft kiss on her forehead. And he would most of all promise her that he would ask her father if one day, when she was a few years older, he could have her hand in marriage to make her lady of the Iron Isles.

And the smile on her face would brighten. She would nod and she would tell him that he was the only man who could ever make her happy.

“What's he dreaming about?” Jon brushed Theon’s shoulders and snapped him out of his thoughts. “Princess Myrcella falling in love with a scoundrel like him?” Jon laughed and much to Theon’s displeasure Robb laughed along with his half brother. They were both already half naked and Robb sat down in the wooden chair.

Theon crossed his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. “Better a scoundrel than a bastard.” He mumbled and watched Jon looking a little uncomfortable while he waited for his turn.

One day Robb would be lord of Winterfell and Theon would rule the Iron Islands. The entire world would know that they were still close friends. Whoever picked a fight with one of them, would also have to fight the other. They’d be this unstoppable force and everyone in their regions would love them.

And no matter how handsome Jon Snow was, he would inherit nothing. He wouldn’t rule anything. He would still be a bastard. 

Quickly Theon pulled his shirt over his head too and he stared at his own muscles, tensed under his pale skin. The many hours of training with Robb clearly showed and he wished Sansa could see him like this.

She would certainly forget about that stupid prince right away. She would stop mentioning him in each and every sentence she spoke. She wouldn’t even want that Joffrey guy anymore.

“Your turn!” 

He felt a strong hand in his back pushing him forward and he almost stumbled over his own feet towards the wooden chair that was now empty. Luckily he could grab the back of the chair before he really fell down on his face. “Seriously, do you guys want me to break an arm or something?” He placed his hands on his knees and leaned back.

The skilled man barely allowed the sharp knife to touch Theon’s skin, but Theon was still determined to sit perfectly still. He didn’t want to end up with a cut and a bloodied bandage making him look ridiculous for the next few hours.

Firstly because Jon and Robb would not stop making fun of it for the rest of his life.

Secondly because then Sansa would be looking at him, but not for the right reasons. He didn’t want her to remember him as the boy who got cut on the day the royal family arrived at Winterfell. 

“And you’re done, dreamer.” 

Theon stood up from the seat again and searched for his shirt while the chuckles from Robb and Jon followed him. Theon wasn’t sure if they really believed he was in love with Myrcella, but if they did he was not gonna make them any wiser.

If Sansa would hear right now that Theon was in love with her, she would probably laugh along with her older brothers and would never take him seriously anymore.

No, he would just wait. He would wait for the right moment and then he would show Sansa that her best choice, that the man who truly deserved her hand and the lord who would worship her as his lady, had been there all this time. 

Without another word he left and walked to his room to get changed into his best clothes.

Jon and Robb might be laughing about him right now, but one day Sansa was gonna marry him. Not because she had to, but because she wanted to. 


	2. Chapter 2

All Starks, apart from Arya, stood in front of him while the clattering of hoofs echoed in the distance. Ned’s shoulders were slightly tensed as if he was truly nervous and Catelyn sounded frustrated when her youngest daughter was still missing. Sansa clearly couldn’t care less if Arya would be there in time or not. She had her chin lifted and stood on the tips of her toes to have a good look at the gate.

Theon stood behind her, next to Jon Snow. He couldn’t see her face, but he had seen more than enough of her childlike wonder whenever the crown prince was mentioned to have a clear picture of how she looked right now in his mind.

She looked pretty. She was wearing a beautiful light blue dress that matched her eyes and her red hair waved over her shoulders. Over the years she had grown that fast that she was now almost as tall as her older brother Robb. Maybe she would even outgrow him eventually.

Somehow Theon chuckled when the image of Robb having to look up at his younger sister for the rest of his life appeared in his mind. He knew that it meant that Sansa might be towering over him too one day, but he wouldn’t mind. He didn’t think there was anything he would mind concerning Sansa.

Apart from that stupid crush she had on the crown prince, of course.

And while Arya, with a helmet she shouldn’t be wearing on her head, rushed across the courtyard to accompany her family, Theon crossed his fingers behind his back and prayed once more that Sansa’s love for Joffrey would be over as soon as she’d see him.

A few seconds later the first rider and his horse of the royal caravan rushed through the gate and right behind him followed a blond haired young man. He wore bright red armour and a blood red cape around his shoulders and his glance wandered over the waiting Starks.

Theon clenched his jaw when he realised that all his prayers had been for nothing.

Crown Prince Joffrey wasn’t ugly. He surely wasn’t the most handsome person Theon had ever met either, but he was beautiful enough. When he noticed Sansa a smile spread across his face and Sansa turned her face to keep her glance locked with Joffrey’s.

She was smiling. Of course she was smiling. The prince she had been dreaming about for weeks now had just rushed through the gate on a beautiful black stallion and had smiled at her. This was all she wanted. This was all she had wished for. This was what she had been talking about all this time. She would without a doubt believe that this was love at first sight, just like in those old songs she liked so much.

As if that one look she and the crown prince now shared was more special than each and every moment Theon and Sansa had shared over the years.

Joffrey hadn’t seen her crying when Arya had hid her favourite doll and had refused to give it back. Joffrey hadn’t listened to her endless ramblings about brave knights and handsome princes marrying damsels in distress and beautiful princesses. Joffrey hadn’t applauded for each and every song Sansa had practiced, assuring her that she had a lovely voice and should sing more often. Joffrey hadn’t taught her how to ride a horse while forcing himself to not laugh when she fell off in a puddle of mud. Joffrey hadn’t rushed to her room in the middle of the night to soothe and calm her when she was screaming because of a nightmare.

Theon almost forgot to kneel when the King eventually rode through the gate. Quickly he sank down on one knee and bent his head, but he buried his nails in the palms of his hands when Sansa still managed to keep on staring at the crown prince high on his horse.

Maybe in a few years Joffrey would follow in the footsteps of his father. The King, who needed ages to come down from his horse, was nothing like the King Ned used to talk about. King Robert had clearly gained a lot of weight over the years and his hair and beard were more grey than black.

Would Sansa still love the crown prince then? If his horse was almost buckling under his weight? If his blond hair had faded to grey? If he would no longer be handsome and charming? If he would no longer look like all the princes and kings and knights from her songs?

“Greyjoy…” Jon grabbed his arm when everyone was already standing again and Theon was still kneeling on the floor. “If you’re gonna stay down, you’re gonna miss princess Myrcella’s arrival.” The bastard grinned and Theon forced himself to smile back while he pushed himself up again.

At least he could dream about marrying a princess. After all, he was almost a prince himself. His father ruled the iron isles. He was high born and noble. He stood a chance with literally every girl in the kingdom. He could marry whomever he wanted.

The bastard would be stuck with a servant girl, if he was lucky enough to get married at all.

Theon watched how the King greeted Ned and every one of the Stark children. But when the King told Sansa that she was pretty, Theon couldn’t help but swallow the groan of frustration that was about to escape his lips.

Of course the King would notice that Sansa was pretty. And of course to the King that was all she was and all that was important. She had to be pretty so she and Joffrey could get beautiful babies together.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Jon hissed in his ear.

“Shut up, bastard.” Theon hissed between his teeth.

Yes, Sansa was pretty, but she deserved someone wanting and loving her because she was so much more. She deserved to be loved because she was emphatic and kind. Because she was polite and caring. Because she had a beautiful voice and dared to put a part of herself in every song she sung. Because she was determined to live up to her parents’ expectations. Because she could lose herself in stories and wasn’t ashamed of it. Because she was intelligent, even though she didn’t always dare to show it.

He wanted and loved her because she was the most amazing person in the entire world, both in the known and the unknown parts. He would make her happy.

So much happier than that crown prince and his King, who only cared that she was pretty, could ever make her.


	3. Chapter 3

The great hall was filled with laughter and music. Bottles of wine were carried around by servants and maidens and plates with food were scattered all over the wooden tables. Winterfell wasn’t really known for its big parties and huge dinners and most likely not even this one would make a true impression on the royal family. But for the North it was almost revolutionary and without a doubt the event of the year.

“Normally you never shut up and now you haven’t been talking for at least five minutes.” Robb planted an elbow in Theon’s side and Theon shook his head.

On the opposite side of the table sat Sansa. She wore a pretty dress and her red hair waved around her angelic looking face. She had always complained that minstrels never bothered to travel to the North and that there was never anything amazing to do. But now she was thriving, drinking in the atmosphere.

And the flirting smiles Joffrey sent her way.

Theon clenched his jaws when he caught another one of their stolen glances and he tightened his grip on the spoon his was holding until his knuckles were pale white.

“Theon? Should I get you a doctor?”

He didn’t need a doctor. He wasn’t ill. But he would feel a lot better if that stupid crown prince and his stupid family would be on their way back to King’s Landing again, far away from Sansa and far away from the marriage he kept on hearing rumours about.

“Is it true?” He turned his face towards his best friend and he bit on his bottom lip.

Robb furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. “Is what true?”

Theon rolled his eyes and he dropped the spoon on his plate. The clattering echoed through the entire hall, but everyone was too busy with their own conversations and the exciting new people crossing their paths to notice him. “Is Sansa gonna marry Joffrey?”

Robb shrugged. “I don’t know.” He looked at his sister and at the crown prince, seated at the table of honour next to the empty seat of his father. “I’ve heard Robert proposed the idea to my father. But from what I know he’s still thinking about it.”

Theon let out a mocking chuckle. “As if your father is ever gonna say no to the King.”

Why did that Jon Arryn guy have to die? If he hadn’t died, King Robert and his Lannisters would still be in King’s Landing. The crown prince wouldn’t have laid eyes on Sansa and Sansa wouldn’t have dreamed about becoming his Queen.

Robb chuckled. “Why does it matter? Sansa seems to like the guy. I have no idea what she sees in him exactly, but as long as she’s happy, everything is fine, right?”

Of course Theon wanted Sansa to be happy too. He wanted her to wake up with a smile on her face each and every morning. He wanted her to sing songs while walking through the hallways of her castle. He wanted her to be surrounded by friends and people who liked her. But more than anything he wanted her to be happy with him. He wanted her to wake up next to him. He wanted her to sing songs because of him. He wanted to be one of those people who liked her, who loved her.

And somehow he had allowed himself to hope that maybe that dream wasn’t out of reach. He had been stupid. He had been incredibly stupid.

“Wait a minute…” Robb’s jaw dropped and he wrapped an arm around his best friend’s shoulders. “You’re not in love with Princess Myrcella…” He had a glimmer in his eyes that Theon usually loved, but hated right now. “You’re in love with Sansa!” He chuckled. “O, I can’t wait to tell Jon about this.”

“Please…” Theon whispered and shook his head. He was kinda glad that the bastard sat as far away from the royal family as possible, because that meant he was also seated far away from Theon and Robb right now. But Theon knew that begging would probably only make things worse, so instead he leaned back in his chair and tried to look as uninterested as possible. “As if I’m not a far batter match for her than that stupid crown prince will ever be.”

Robb raised his eyebrows and then he burst into some annoying endless laughter. “Theon…” He patted Theon’s shoulders. “I don’t wanna be rude, but that boy is gonna be our King one day. And if my sister gets the chance to be his queen and likes that, I don’t think there is a better option in Westeros for her.”

Theon crossed his arms over his chest and he bent his head to hide the tears burning in his eyes. “He only likes her because she’s pretty.” He mumbled. “If she marries him, he’ll force her to be pregnant all the time so she constantly has to push out beautiful babies.”

“And that’s not why you’re in love with her?” Robb tried to muffle his laughing, but failed hopelessly.

“No!” Theon raised his voice and looked up again. “She’s more than just pretty! She’s smart and funny and kind. She sings beautifully and she makes all those lovely clothes.” Theon took a deep breath. “And when she enters a room, it’s like…” He searched for the right word. “Like the sun starts shining.”

“O boy…” Robb shook his head in utter disbelief. “I didn’t know it was this bad.”

“Arya!” Sansa’s high pitched scream interrupted their conversation before it could get even more uncomfortable. A blob of food slid down her cheek and quickly her friend tried to wipe it away. “It’s not funny!”

But it only worsened Robb’s uncontrollable laughter.

“Robb…” This time it was Theon’s turn to plant his elbow in his best friend’s flank. “I thought you wanted her to be happy?” He hissed between his teeth. “Does she look happy to you now?”

“Fine, fine…” Robb stood up from his seat to get Arya out of the room.

It was way past her bedtime anyway.

But just when Theon was about to stand up to offer Sansa his help, he noticed how Jeyne Poole already guided her safely out of the great hall to get herself properly cleaned up.

Damn it. He had just missed his chance to play her knight in shining armour.


	4. Chapter 4

“Who plans a hunting trip the day after a feast?” Theon tightly held onto the reigns of his horse. He still felt slightly unbalanced and a piercing headache was splitting his skull into two, but when his Lord and the King had asked him to accompany them, Robb and most of their men on this trip he had not really known how to say no. “It’s a day to spend in bed in the company of a pretty lady!” He raised his voice.

Robb shook his head and chuckled. “As if the lady you’ve set your eyes on would have joined you in that bed of yours.”

Theon felt his cheeks heating up and he licked his dry lips. “A guy can dream, right?”

“Is that what you’ve been doing all those times you’ve been telling me about those great adventures and nights you’ve had?” Robb raised his eyebrows. “Or are you the kinda guy who’s in love with one girl, but doesn’t mind satisfying his needs with the body of another?”

Theon took a deep breath. “Is this the part where you’re gonna tell me that I’m not good enough for your sister?” Theon turned his face towards his best friend. “You already made that clear. She will marry a King. I can’t compete with a King.” He dropped his shoulders and his horse slowed down. “Does it change anything if I say that every time I’ve been with another girl I dreamed she was your sister?”

“Honestly?” Robb furrowed his eyebrows. “I think it only makes it worse.” He had a playful smile around his lips though and slowly the caravan of hunters, on their way home already now the sun was setting, rode away from them. “And yet…” Robb paused for a long and agonising moment.

Technically Theon was their hostage, a price his father had to pay for his role in the rebellion and the side he chose at the time. But the Starks had never made Theon feel like a hostage. But sometimes, in the middle of the night or when one of the Starks started a sentence and took a very long time to finish, Theon feared they all of a sudden remembered again.

“You’d be good to her, I just know that.” Robb continued and Theon let out the breath he was holding, all of a sudden feeling a few pounds lighter once more. “I don’t know anything about prince Joffrey.” Robb forced his horse to stop and carefully he checked if none of the King’s soldiers had stayed behind to overhear their conversation. “And you know my sister just as well as I do. She is naive and in her mind all princes are charming and brave and perfect.”

It was one of Sansa’s most beautiful flaws. Even in this world, consumed by greed and a hunger for power, where every time someone ended up on the throne others already plotted to bring them down again, she only saw goodness. When she thought about war, she didn’t think about the killing and the screaming and the smell of burning fires. She thought about all the heroes saving the poor damsels in distress before anything bad could happen to them.

“Father wants to take her, Bran and Arya to King’s Landing.” Robb continued talking as if he hadn’t noticed that Theon’s mind had drifted off.

“King’s Landing?” Theon widened his eyes. “Were you just saying that your father is really planning on taking them South?” He shook his head in disbelief.

Ned couldn’t do that. He wasn’t allowed to do that.

Theon had it all figured out last night. Joffrey would leave Winterfell again, his hand promised to Sansa once she was of age and old enough to get married. After a while Sansa would stop dreaming about the prince, who would by then be nothing but a fading memory. And prince Joffrey would meet another maiden, not as pretty as Sansa, but just pretty enough and maybe from a more important family. King Robbert would forget about the engagement, a plan he had made hastily just so he could convince Ned to become his hand. And when Sansa would hear about the wedding, Theon would be there to comfort her and she would notice that she had actually stopped caring about the crown prince and that the prince of the Iron Islands was who she really wanted.

“He is.”

Theon’s daydream shattered and the million pieces exploded before he could gather them again to glue them together. “He can’t do that. They should stay with their mother, here in Winterfell. The South is no place for a Stark.” Everyone knew that. Even Theon knew that and he wasn’t even a Stark.

Robb’s lips were forming a straight line and he narrowed his eyes. “Father thinks Sansa might actually like it. She has always loved music and stories and feasts. Winterfell is not quite as alive as King’s Landing. She might not even want to come back home once she has tasted what the capital has to offer.”

“You have to stop him from taking her.” Theon’s voice sounded slightly higher than usual and every word trembled. “What if she gets hurt or even worse, what if something happens to her father and she’s all alone, far away from home?”

Robb’s glance met his and then Robb curled his lips up into a smile. “You really love her, do you?” He cocked his head and stared at his best friend. “I’ll see what I can do.” He planted his heels in his horse’s flanks and Theon did the same.

Quickly they caught up with the hunting party, but when they rode through the gates of Winterfell they found the courtyard completely empty and the deafening howling of the dire wolves sang in their ears.

“Father?” Sansa rushed out of the castle. Loose strands of red hair were dangling from her braids. Her eyes were red and swollen and traces of her tears were visible on her cheeks. “Father, you have to come quickly. Bran fell off of the old tower while climbing and the Maester isn’t sure if he’ll ever wake up again.”

Not only Ned jumped off of his horse as quickly as possible. Theon and Robb did so too.

“How did that happen?” While Robb and Ned rushed past Sansa, Theon stood still next to her.

“They don’t know.” Sansa sniffed and then she turned around to follow her father and brother. “But I don’t want him to die!”

Theon hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders. “Your brother is a Stark. I’m sure he’s not giving up that easily.”

“Do you think so?” She looked up at him and Theon allowed himself to drown in her beautiful blue eyes. “I’d give everything for him to live!”

“I’m sure you don’t have to give anything.” Theon lead her up the stairs towards her brother’s bedroom. “If we all pray for him, then maybe the Gods will help him to come back to us.”

“I hope so.” Sansa wrapped her arms around Theon and Theon felt his heart racing in his chest. “Shall we pray together tonight?”

A smile spread across Theon’s face while he embraced her and pressed her to his chest. “I’d love to.”


	5. Chapter 5

Actually Theon was supposed to have his eyes closed, but he couldn’t bring himself to keep them shut. How could he when Sansa Stark was sitting next to him with her hands folded and her head slightly bent?

Even though traces of her tears were still visible on her cheeks and even though all the color had drained from her face, she was still beautiful. Or maybe she was beautiful because of all this. Sansa was not always subtile and Theon had heard her scold her siblings more than once, especially when they didn’t behave or disturbed her reading or music sessions. But she loved them. And now Bran was fighting for his life it showed and it showed beautifully.

He just hated that the first time in ages they actually spent time together, as just the two of them, they spent their time praying. He hated praying. Especially because the Starks didn’t even agree on which Gods to pray to.

Catelyn prayed to the new Gods, the Gods from the south, and mostly Sansa went with her mother to the small sept built for the Seven.

But right now she sat in the Godswood and she prayed to the old Gods, the Gods from her father and the Gods from the North.

He wanted to ask her why, but he wasn’t planning on ruining this moment. This moment could be the beginning of his future, of his dreams coming true, of everything he wanted.

What if Sansa decided that Joffrey hadn’t supported her during this hard time? What if one day Sansa would finally figure out that the crown prince was a jerk and didn’t care about her emotional well being? What if Sansa would remember that there had been someone who had cared, someone who had prayed with her and hadn’t complained about it?

A smile appeared on his face when he envisioned the moment so very clearly.

Joffrey would ask her once more if she would travel with him to King’s Landing, but Sansa would shake her pretty head. And then she would tell the idiot that she would stay here, in Winterfell, with the boy she really loved and really wanted, with the prince if the Iron Islands.

“Lady Sansa?”

Theon’s smile faltered. His lips were now forming a straight line and he saw the devil appearing at the edge of the Godswood.

Joffrey’s blond hair gleamed in the sunset and his shining armour looked too pretty after an entire day of hunting. He must have gotten a new one. Or he must have commanded his servants to get it cleaned right away. “I’ve heard I could find you here.”

Sansa smiled a weak smile at the crown prince. “I’m praying for my brother.”

“So I’ve heard.” Joffrey stepped forward. Something in his tone was off. He didn’t mean a thing of what he said, but Theon didn’t say a word.

He knew how that would end.

People like Joffrey always got what they wanted and they always managed to let others take the fall for them. That spoiled brat would probably twist the story to make Theon the bad guy.

And Theon had just been very well on his way to prove that he was the good guy, the true Prince Charming, the real knight in shining armour and he wouldn’t give the crown prince the satisfaction of ruining that.

That crown prince had already ruined more than enough.

“Are you here to join me?”

“Us.” Theon bit on his bottom lip and bent his head. “I’m praying too.” He smiled.

“The more people pray for Bran, the better. If we all want him to get better, the Gods will maybe make him better.” Her voice and her optimism sounded almost childlike.

As if some stupid Gods, old or new, would decide about the fate of a little boy based on how many people were praying for him to wake up and recover. If those Gods existed, they probably had something much better to do.

And yet, her optimism, her faith, her hope that if she would pray and if Theon would pray and if bloody Joffrey would pray her brother would wake up, it was refreshing and it made his heart skip a beat in his chest.

Joffrey sat down on the holy ground near the Weirwood Tree.

Theon clenched his jaw, but he closed his eyes once more in an attempt to focus on Sansa’s praying. But when he opened his eyes for a slight moment to look at her, he saw Joffrey.

Joffrey had his eyes wide open and he was rolling his eyes after each and every sentence Sansa spoke and whispered.

“You…” Theon tensed all his muscles and he was about to push himself up to lecture the crown prince on the issue of respect when Robb appeared.

“Sansa?” Robb shook his head almost invisibly when he caught Theon’s glance and Theon took a deep breath. “It’s getting late and mother asks you to come inside before it gets dark.”

Joffrey quickly stood up and he offered Sansa his arm. “I will escort you, my lady, if you allow me.”

And of course Sansa accepted his arm with a smile on her face. Without a doubt she would talk about this moment of kindness for the upcoming days. She would tell how Joffrey came to pray with her for Bran, how he had been so kind to her, how he was so perfect and how he had brought her home safely. And she wouldn’t mention Theon. Of course she wouldn’t.

Theon was always there.

“Do you want to lose your head?” Robb hissed between his teeth as soon as the crown prince and his sister were out of earshot. “You can’t attack the crown prince while he’s praying.”

Theon snorted. “Praying? He wasn’t praying at all! He was mocking her!”

Robb placed a hand on his best friend’s shoulder. “Who do you think they will believe if there will be a trial? The crown prince or a hostage of Ned Stark?”

“He was mocking her!” He raised his voice. “He doesn’t care about her one bit!”

“As if you were here to seriously pray.” Robb winked and he pulled Theon a little closer towards him. “I will talk to father to see if we can keep Sansa here in Winterfell with us, but you have to promise me that you will stay calm around prince Joffrey and all the other people connected to the Baratheons and the Lannisters. You can’t marry Sansa if you’re dead.”

Theon breathed out and then he nodded. “Does that mean you would be okay with me marrying Sansa?” He cocked his head and a grin spread across his face.

“Not so fast, Theon. Not so fast.” But Robb smiled back at him. At least Robb also thought that Theon was a better option that crown prince Joffrey.

Although Theon had to admit that wasn’t exactly an achievement.

And it was for sure not good enough for Sansa.

She didn’t just deserve better than prince Joffrey. She deserved the best.


	6. Chapter 6

 

Theon turned from one side to the other. He had no idea how long he laid awake yet, but every time he walked to the window and looked outside it was still dark.

At Bran’s window the dire wolves from the Starks were howling. Servants of the royal family demanded more than once that someone had to make them shut up. But the wolves didn’t listen.

They didn’t listen when Robb tried to soothe them and tell them that people wanted to sleep. They didn’t listen when Arya tried being angry with them and it seemed that now it was Sansa’s turn to try.

She wore a coat over her nightgown and the big black boots of her older brother to keep her feet warm. Her steps looked slightly unbalanced and yet Theon couldn’t fight the grin spreading across his face. Even barely awake and dressed in clothes that didn’t really fit a future Queen, she still looked pretty and beautiful and elegant. And she most of all still managed to make his heart beat faster.

He had been the one giving her her dire wolf. Actually Robb had wanted to do it, but there were two more pups and so Theon had volunteered to give Sansa one of the females.

The wolf in his arms had tried to bite him multiple times, but her teeth hadn’t been sharp enough yet to do much damage. She had easily been the prettiest of the nest and all the way towards the garden, where Sansa had been making flower crowns with Jeyne Poole, he had stared at the beautiful beast.

“Sansa?” Theon had tried to shield the pup from her curious eyes, but had failed hopelessly. Even though the dog had only been a puppy then, she had already been quite big, too big to hide behind his back. “I’ve got something for you.” He had smiled and had waited for Sansa to stand up.

The white flowers in her red hair had been mesmerising, but her eyes had been fixated on the bundle of fur in his arms while she walked towards him. “What’s this?”

“A dire wolf.” He had carefully placed the wolf in Sansa’s arms. “We found them in the woods. A nest of five.” He had not told Sansa about the white wolf with the red eyes and he had also not told her that he had been all too eager to kill them when her father had given that order. Even though the pup in his arms had looked harmless in a way, the wolves had scared him. “This one’s yours.”

They still scared him sometimes.

They scared him now.

“Lady…” Sansa kneeled down next to her wolf.

The wolf was no longer a pup. She had grown bigger and bigger and she was now already the size of an average human dog. And she hadn’t stopped growing yet. She would grow even bigger and one day she would maybe be just as tall as Sansa herself.

Sansa’s hands caressed her wolf’s fur. In the moonlight her skin looked even paler than normally and her loose hair covered her face now she leaned forward. “Bran needs rest. We all do. You have to tell the others to keep quiet.”

But the wolf didn’t listen. Not even to her. They only seemed to do so when they truly felt their lives depended on it.

“Lady!” Sansa had yelled, her hands next to her mouth to make her scream go even further. “Lady! Come back!”

Teaching the wolves to listen and behave had been a lot harder than Robb and Bran had probably thought it would be. These weren’t dogs they could easily tame. These were wild animals, born in freedom and now raised in captivity.

“Lady!” Sansa had stamped her feet and had crossed her arms over her chest. “If father finds out about this, he might have you killed.”

“I won’t let that happen, Sansa.” Theon’s reply had surprised even himself. “I promise.”

He normally never questioned Ned Stark’s decisions. He didn’t have the luxury to do so. And yet he knew that if Ned would ever ask him to kill one of the wolves again, he couldn’t do it.

Even though Sansa had been slightly afraid of the wolf at first, she had also grown very attached to it very quickly. Wherever Sansa went, her wolf followed, always keeping an eye on her and stepping in whenever someone came a little too close.

More than once Lady had growled at Theon, had bared her teeth and had warned him to keep his distance.

It was a pity that Ned Stark had ordered his children to keep the dire wolves away from the royal family.

Theon would have loved to see what Lady would have done to Joffrey.

The handsome prince maybe would have lost one of his precious hands. Or, if Theon had been very lucky, the wolf would have gone for a far more delicious piece of meat. And with one bite Lady could have ruined this marriage before it had even happened, much easier and much faster than Theon and Robb could.

A soft chuckle escaped Theon’s slightly parted lips and Sansa looked up, her glance meeting his.

“It’s not funny!” She shook her head and quickly Theon stepped back and returned to his comfortable bed.

In a way the howling of the wolves, even though it was deafening, had something reassuring too. They were howling because one of them was hurt and fighting for his life. The Starks were just as much part of the pack as the wolves were.

And if there was one thing Theon knew about packs, it was that they always looked after one another.

When his head rested on his pillow again he closed his eyes. He heard Sansa attempting to calm the wolves down once more and failing again.

Maybe they would have more luck if they would send little Rickon. But Rickon was without a doubt fest asleep, not understanding a bit of what was actually going on.

But Theon wasn’t that blissfully ignorant anymore. And deep down he knew that it had never been the howling of the wolves keeping him awake.


End file.
